Township Should Have Reverse 911 System In Place By September

Berkeley Township residents will soon have a reverse 911 phone program in place to inform them of emergencies, Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said.

"It's a highly sophisticated robo-call system," Amato said recently.

The new system will input as many numbers - home and cell phones - obtained from plan providers so calls can be automatically made to areas in the township when problems arise, like weather or traffic emergencies, he said.

"We'll be able to send out reverse robo-calls to certain areas," he said. "There will be an opt-out for residents who want to forego the calls. If it's a catastrophe, we will call everybody."

The new system also has the capability to send text messages to cell phones, Amato said.

"It's an additional avenue of a notification system for the community," he said.

The program should be up and running by Sept. 1, the mayor said.